Cold Weather Question For A Salt Pool That Runs Year Round

I have a salt water pool which I keep running year round. It has a cold weather program that keeps the pump and the waterfall running when the temp gets below 40 degrees.

I'm told not to worry about the salt level during the cold months, do you agree?

Ron

Thanks for the question Ron

In my opinion, you should NEVER " not to worry about the salt level during the cold months", to simply let it go and hope for the best. Whoever told you this may have been mistaken.

It is true that during the cold months your pool will use less chlorine. The heat and sun will eat up the chlorine faster during the hot Summer months, but never just say because it's cold, and even though my pool is open, I don't need to test the chlorine or add any salt.

Now, you can get away with testing bi-weekly, but never go over that.

When I had my pool route in Arizona I still tested my customer's pools each week, regardless of the weather.

Yes, the temperature of the water was in the high 30s - low 40s, but I still tested and made adjustments when needed. And those are the operative words, when needed.

So, although it's not as important to test in the Winter, you still need to do all of the tests and make the right adjustments when your pool needs them, and this is true for the salt level as well.

Hope this helps and have a great day.

Robert

Comment By RonDate: January 26, 2012

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your quick reply. I have a gauge on my pool box and it says the level is at 2000.

I have a smaller pool, may put half a sack of salt.

Say about 2700?

Thanks again.

Comment By RobertDate: January 26, 2012

Thanks, and one thing I didn't mention now that I have your salt reading. Many salt cells have a range of salinity. Normally it's between 3000 - 4000, but some have a more forgiving range, between 2500 - 4500. Be sure you don't run the salinity too low, or too high, or the cell can burn up.

Many cells are polarized, which means that while one side is producing chlorine the other is being cleaned, then it switches. Keep your salinity right in the mid range so you have a little buffer and the water salinity won't bottom out.

Yes, if your range is between 3000 - 4000, then 2700 is fine. If the range is 3000 - 3500, then 3300 - 3400 is good.

Saltwater Pool and Winter

I was told that there is no need to do anything to saltwater pool for winters in Iowa because saltwater will not freeze...is this true?

I have a above-ground Intex pool with metal frame 14x42.

Thanks for the question Karen

While it is true that salt water does have a slightly lower freezing point, you still need to close your pool as you would a regular pool. The salt does have a little effect on the freeze point, but not to make a huge difference. The salt in the pool is so low that closing it during the Winter is advisable.

If you would like personal assistance, I do phone consultations for a donation of your choice. It makes things go much faster. If you choose to not go that route, we can correspond by email.

Saltwater Winterization

by Rory
(Pennsylvania)

Do I need to do anything special to close my saltwater pool? This is my first time closing a saltwater pool.

Thanks for the question Rory

There's no special care that you need to take when closing a salt water pool. You would follow the same course as a regular chlorine pool. The main difference is if you have an in-line salt water generator (SWG) you would need to disconnect it from the plumbing, clean it, and store it in a warm dry area.

Blow the lines out the best you can using a Shop Vac or something similar, and cap the open ends of the plumbing. You don't want it to ice up and you specially don't want and critters to get in the lines.

Chlorine tablets in winter

by Alan
(Spain)

Please can you tell me if it's right that chlorine tablets don't work below a certain temperature. Someone told me it's just wasting money putting them in in the winter

Regards Alan

Hi Alan. We first must be clear what the tabs are actually meant for and designed to do. They're used to dispense 1 ppm FC per day so the FC doesn't bottom out and gives you a cushion to be able to manually add chlorine to maintain the proper FC level. They also contain CYA/stabilizer.

To say they don't "work" is not factual. They do their job in colder water, it's just that algae spores have a more difficult time growing in colder water so the FC doesn't burn off as quickly. People are not using the pool so less organic matter is going into the pool to be used up by the FC.

Also, filtration is cut down to 4 - 6 hours per day. Less water flow over the tabs means they're not dissolving as quickly.

You'll lose much less FC during the colder months so tabs are not needed as often, compared to the hot Summer months.